Lancaster PA- Most people I talk to sure are glad 2008 is over and we are no different. We saw more financial chaos in the United States in 2008 than any other single year that can be remembered. It was a year that left us wondering if there will ever be blue skies again.

I believe that our financial system is paying the price for years of greedy risk taking mostly by Wall Street players and poor oversight from regulators and lawmakers. The era of "Greed is good" as Gordon Gekko said in the 1987 movie Wall Street has now come to a close.

It will take time to deleverage and clean up the mess that has been created however, 2009 will offer some incentives to those who have not been greedy that may never be seen again.

Home prices may still decline a bit in 2009 but to those that make savvy home purchases below market in 2009 should make out quite well, especially in the longer term. Too much inventory is the pricing problem at the moment. Once inventory is sopped up the housing market will turn positive. With high inventory homebuyers have a strong negotiating position and are likely to make good deals for themselves maybe even once in a lifetime deals.  Those who buy a home in 2009 and stay for the long term are likely to see handsome rewards. The Government is giving $7500 in interest free loans to every first time homebuyer that buys a home by June 30, 2009 and they have made it their mission to keep home mortgage rates low through the first half of 2009.

Early 2009 could very well mark the lowest rates that any of us will see in our lifetimes. We expect mortgage rates to run between 4.5%-5.5% throughout 2009 with the higher rates seen in the second half of this year. There will not likely be a better time to buy a home or refinance your current mortgage than the first half of 2009.

I am going to take a bold step here and say, "Yes, I do believe the sun will shine again on our country and we will be stronger than we were before 2008 got started, just not sure how long it will take!"

Ron Felpel is the President of Home National Mortgage Company. You can reach out to Ron at rfelpel@homenat.com or give him a call at 717.278.9751 if you have any questions regarding mortgages or real estate throughout Pennsylvania.